Brotherhood gains official political legitimacy for first time in its 80 years

Published: 06.07.11

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood's political party was declared legal by Cairo Tuesday, the state news agency MENA said.

The achievement is the movement's first since its inception, eight decades ago. "The commission on party affairs has given its approval for the formation of the Freedom and Justice Party," MENA said.

The Muslim Brotherhood was officially illegal but mostly tolerated during the rule of president Hosni Mubarak, ousted in a popular revolt on February 11. It was set up in 1928 and an official ban imposed in 1954, over its suspected involvement in a series of political assassinations in the 1950s, including an attempt on the life of Egypt's first republican president, Gamal Abdal Nasser.

As the best-organized political movement in Egypt, the Brotherhood announced on Apri